longhair said:
I've seen that and I've seen refs do it. By the rules as I understand them this is cheating. If we want to be deliberate about where the balls in the rack should be, we need to change the rules.
The rule is somewhat ambiguous. It does not say that the balls (other than the 9) must be racked "randomly" but in random ORDER.
The argument could be made that so long as they are not racked in consecutive numeric order...1,2,3,9,4,5,6,7,8 that the ORDER is therefore random.
I don't agree with that because "random" means
1. Having no specific pattern,
purpose, or objective:
So, if a player racks the same way every time, there clearly is a pattern, purpose and objective.
Problem is that few refs are english majors. And even if they were, other than blindfolding the racker there would be no way to PROVE intentional ball placement.
Even if a specific ball ends up in exactly the same place, say, 3 times in a row, probabilities suggest that can happen randomly.
Besides, tactical racking is an age old practice and even property LAW can be changed by "custom and practices."
I think there would be little chance of getting the true random racking rule enforced in tournements and zero in gambling matches.
Regards,
Jim
5.2 RACKING THE BALLS
The object balls are racked in a diamond shape, with the 1-ball at the top of the diamond and on the foot
spot, the 9-ball in the center of the diamond, and the other balls in random order, racked as tightly as
possible. The game begins with cue ball in hand behind the head string.